AG136

The Symbol Life File:TheSymbolLife.jpg.png

AG136   初陣！バトルファクトリー!!（後編） First Battle! Battle Factory! (Part Two)

First broadcast Japan July 28, 2005 United States April 22, 2006

English themes Opening Unbeatable Ending

Japanese themes Opening バトルフロンティア Ending ポケモンかぞえうた

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 十川誠志 Masashi Sogo Storyboard 志村錠児 Jōji Shimura Assistant director 中村圭三 Keizō Nakamura Animation director たけだゆうさく Yūsaku Takeda No additional credits are available at this time.

Screenshots on Bulbagarden Archives Screenshots on Filb.de

The Symbol Life (Japanese: 初陣!バトルファクトリー！（後編） First Battle! Battle Factory! (Part Two)) is episode 136 of Advanced Generation. It was first broadcast in Japan on July 28, 2005 and in the United States on April 22, 2006.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Synopsis

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The narrator begins by saying how Ash, Brock, May and Max are on their way through the Battle Frontier in Kanto, and are currently at the first challenge, the Battle Factory run by Factory Head Noland. It then recaps the events of last episode, including the meeting of Articuno, and the meeting of Charizard.

We open up at sunset, and see Ash and Pikachu riding Charizard. Ash wants to see how much stronger Charizard has become, and he tells Charizard to go from a steep dive into a steep climb, which Charizard does with ease. "That was great!" Ash exclaims. "I see you've been training," he teases. Charizard roars affirmatively. Ash now wants to see some of Charizard's attacks. He asks for Flamethrower, and Charizard unleashes an inferno, far more powerful than in his last match against Blaziken.

"Woah!" Max exclaims. "Look at that!" "It's amazing," May agrees. "Charizard's even more powerful than in the Johto League!" Max says. Brock explains that it's because Charizard keeps going up against all the other Charizard in the Charicific Valley. May doesn't understand why Ash left it there when they could have trained together. Brock tells May and Max how Ash thought that leaving it behind to train with the other Charizard would be the best thing for it. May thinks that's pretty cool and how happy Ash and Charizard must be to be together again.

It cuts back to Ash, Pikachu and Charizard as Ash orders a Dragonbreath. A dazzling burst of yellow flame erupts from Charizard's mouth which neatly cuts a hole in a cloud. Ash is impressed - he thinks Charizard's power is excellent, and Charizard is a lot stronger than the last time they battled. He calls for some high altitude flying, and Charizard shoots straight up, stunning May and Max with its speed.

Team Rocket appear, watching Charizard through the binoculars. James claims that he can still feel the scorch marks from the last time they battled. Meowth says that it should be an incredible match, "fighting fire with real fire" as he puts it. He thinks they should have lunch and watch the battle while eating James's Egg Salad, but Jessie says no, and lays out her plan. They'll wait until Charizard tires out Articuno, and then they'll swipe the legendary Pokémon for their boss. Meowth wants to know what they'll do if Charizard gets beaten, and Jessie says they'll just take Charizard instead.

Ash, May, Brock, Max and Scott are led into the Battle Factory's arena by the official. Ash thinks the arena is great, and can hardly wait for the battle to begin. Noland enters and tells Ash that it's been a while since he had a top-notch opponent, and he hopes Ash knows that he won't hold back. Ash says that he was counting on it, and Noland calls in Articuno, while Ash sends out Charizard. Max says he's never seen a Pokémon as great as Articuno, and May thinks that it's really beautiful. Scott suggests that they all go up to the stands.

It cuts to Team Rocket standing on the roof of the Battle Factory. James wants to know why they are this high up, and Meowth explains that they'll cut a hole in the roof, and when Articuno flies up high enough, they'll grab it and head off to the Boss. They begin to cut a hole in the roof.

Going back to the action, and Max says this will be an awesome match-up, while Brock just says that he's never seen an Articuno battle before. May starts cheering for Ash and the battle begins - or does it? The roof begins to open up. Scott explains that it was designed to do that so that flying Pokémon would be able to use their full potential. Cut back to Team Rocket, who fall off the roof and into the arena. They say their motto, and try to grab Articuno while it's still at full strength. Articuno uses Ice Beam and freezes them, then Ash uses Charizard's flamethrower and Pikachu's Thunderbolt to send them Blasting Off Again!

The match finally begins, and both Charizard and Articuno fly up into the air. Charizard uses Flamethrower. Articuno counters with Ice Beam, and the two attacks meet. Flamethrower burns right through Ice Beam, striking Articuno for a direct hit, and sending it crashing into the ground. Ash is exultant - Charizard is a match even for an Articuno! But Articuno shoots straight back into the air, not looking any worse for wear. Ash calls for another Flamethrower, but Articuno uses its speed to evade the attack and fly right past the fire-type Pokémon. Noland tells Articuno to spin in a steep dive and Ash tells Charizard to fly right for it. Articuno uses Mist, and Charizard can't see - it hovers in midair, but Articuno smashes straight into it, sending Charizard to earth. Cut to the spectators and Brock comments how Mist is usually used for defense, or even to help the Pokémon using it escape - he's never seen it used like that before.

Charizard stands up, shaking its head. It looks up just in time to see Articuno fly straight for it out of the Mist cloud. Ash calls for Dragonbreath, but Articuno dodges two times, but is hit on the third try. Noland calls for Ice Beam, and it strikes Charizard on the wing. Ash calls for Flamethrower - Articuno dodges and hits Charizard with a Steel Wing. Charizard falls from a huge height and crashes into the earth again.

Charizard stands up, growling. It looks battered, but Articuno is still unmarked. Articuno hits Charizard with a Water Pulse, sending Charizard into the wall. Ash calls for Charizard to get up, but it hunches its neck. Ash is getting really nervous, and thinks he may have only one chance left.

It cuts to last night, when Ash was seeing what Charizard could do. Ash, riding his Pokémon, says "Well, that's it for attacks!" right before Charizard begins glowing red. Charizard looks back at Ash and smiles with satisfaction. Ash is stunned and says "Have you learned that attack all by yourself?" Charizard glows even more brightly, and a huge ball of red energy envelops them as the flashback fades.

Back at the battle, Ash says to himself "It's still too soon to use that attack." Articuno uses Ice Beam, striking Charizard's wingtip, freezing it. Charizard falls from the air and spins along the ground as Articuno uses Water Pulse on the ice that hit the ground. The ice shatters, and flies towards Charizard, who shields himself with a wing, but a big piece knocks him off balance. Ash tells Chaizard to climb in the hope that he will be able to avoid another combination attack. May notices that something is wrong with Charizard, it's flying much too slowly. Brock sees that the wingtip is still frozen. Scott realizes that the reason Noland kept getting Articuno to use Ice Beam was because even though it wasn't very effective, he knew that eventually it would freeze part of Charizard. Noland tells Articuno to use another combination of Ice Beam/Water Pulse, and Ash gets Charizard to use Flamethrower on the ice shards, but some get past the attack and strike Charizard. Noland tells Articuno to finish the battle by getting above Charizard. Ash realizes it's time to use that attack Charizard learned all on its own. He tells Charizard to get above Articuno, and use Overheat! Charizard glows bright red, and the ice on the wing melts. Noland and Articuno are both stunned. So are May and Max. May didn't realize that Charizard could know that move, and Max remembers that it was never used in the Johto League.

Both Pokémon zoom higher and higher into the air. Ash orders Overheat, and a blast of white flame is sent at Articuno. The legendary bird counters with Water Pulse, which results in an explosion when the two attacks meet. Light fills the stadium, and when it fades, and huge cloud of smoke hides the Pokémon from each other. Noland orders a Steel Wing. Articuno bursts from the smoke and scores a direct hit. Charizard looks tired and very battered, while Articuno is still as strong as ever. Brock realizes that Charizard won't be able to withstand another direct hit by any attack. Ash knows that he can't use Overheat anymore - it won't be as effective. He realizes that there is only one chance left to win the battle.

Noland tells Ash he has battled bravely, but it's time to end the battle. He orders another Steel Wing. Charizard stays unmoving in mid-air, as May, Brock, Scott, and Max watch in anxiety. Right before Articuno can strike, Ash orders Charizard to grab it! Charizard grabs the glowing wings with its claws - Noland and Articuno are both in shock! Ash gives Charizard the last command - Seismic Toss! Charizard brings Articuno in close, and spins earthwards, faster than ever before. They collide with the ground, sending a huge burst of dust into the air. When it finally clears, the first thing we see is Charizard stretched out on the ground, seemingly unable to move, oddly reminiscent of Ash's final match in the Johto League Championships. Articuno struggles to its feet. The official begins to call the battle, but Noland tells him to wait until the battle is over for sure, right as Articuno collapses. Then Charizard manages to struggle to its feet. The battle is over! Charizard has won, defeating a legendary Pokémon, and giving Ash his first Battle Frontier symbol in the process.

Major events

• Ash's Charizard has learned Overheat.
• Ash and Charizard defeat Noland and Articuno.
• Ash earns the Knowledge Symbol.
• Charizard returns to the Charicific Valley.

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• May
• Brock
• Max
• Jessie
• James
• Noland
• Sergio
• Scott
• Nurse Joy

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Chimecho (James's)
• Charizard (Ash's; leaves)
• Munchlax (May's; flashback)
• Articuno (Noland's; temporary)

Trivia

• This episode marks the first time that a legendary Pokémon has been defeated in a one-on-one battle with a non-legendary Pokémon.
• This is the only Frontier Brain challenge that is dubbed by Template:4Kids.
• Charizard's Seismic Toss attack looks significantly different than it has before in this episode. Some fans have noted that it resembles Rock Lee's Primary Lotus attack from the anime/manga series Naruto.

Pokémon Trainer's Choice

• Question: Trainers, Which of these Pokémon has only one evolution?
• Choices: Whismur, Spoink, Beldum
• Answer: Ok, trainers! If you chose Spoink, you were right!

In other languages

• French: Le premier match extrême
• Italian: Il primo Simbolo
• Portuguese: Vida de Medalhas.
• Latin American Spanish: El símbolo de la vida
• Iberian Spanish: El Símbolo Vida

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.